Zero Tolerance
by lizwuzthere
Summary: It's finally time to start rebuilding Cybertron! Unfortunately for the Autobots, the one Vehicon who is in charge of organizing all the rest of them is not interested in teaming up. It's up to Ultra Magnus to find a way to appease this 'Con and get them all working together peacefully- And also investigate whether or not something more sinister is afoot.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is going to be short. Maybe three chapters or so. It focuses on Ultra Magnus and my jackass of a Vehicon OC, AA-00. (pronounced "double A zero")**

* * *

It took a lot of discussion amongst the Autobots to decide what to do with the Vehicons. A lot of ideas were tossed around. Everything from making them Autobots to trying them for war crimes came up. Of course, in the end, the only real _Autobot_ thing for them to do was to talk to the 'Cons. Hopefully, they could be convinced to aid in the rebuilding of New Kaon. (as it had been dubbed.)

Once that decision had been made, Ultra Magnus had firmly insisted that he be the one to address the Vehicons. Being an authority figure with experience in coordinating large groups, he reasoned his skills would be best suited for handling them.

The Vehicons were being held in small groups in the rooms of the Nemesis until they could be spoken to face to face. Since they'd gotten back, Ultra Magnus had been going from group to group trying to convince them to aid the Autobots in the rebuilding effort. Some of them had agreed. Some of them had told him to go eat slag.

It was not a 50-50 split...

That all changed, however, when Magnus came upon a group of silver eradicons. The moment Magnus entered the room, one eradicon stormed up to the Autobot commander, pointed a sharp digit right in his chassis and started screaming into his face!

It was _about time _that bumbling Autobot commander showed up to talk! And Magnus ought to have known if he wanted to utilize the Vehicons for _any _purpose, he would have to go through AA-00 first! And anything Magnus did trying to organize the Vehicons on his own was just going to '_muck everything up!_'

Magnus had stumbled out of the room in shock. He had barely gotten a word in. That was... unusual.

Once he'd regained himself, Magnus had a word around about this 'Con. _This_ was AA-00, he learned. They were in charge of the Vehicons. And very protective of them too. Also, they used 'they' as a pronoun. Something to do with human pronouns being _stupid_. Anyway, that wasn't important. What was important was they knew the Vehicons and they knew how to coordinate them on a mass scale. And since he had now found someone who was proficient at handling these Decepticons, Ultra Magnus saw fit to relinquish the duty.

It had all worked out very much in their favor, actually. With another Vehicon leading them, the transition to work had gone much smoother than it might have with an Autobot giving the orders. Apparently none of them _dared_ to tell AA-00 to "eat slag."

And plus, the Vehicons were _efficient_. Within just a decacycle they had a landing dock for future arrivals, a new base of operations, and a barracks built. Scouting patrols were regularly being sent out to scope the landscape and record changes or new threats. The seekers were finding new energon veins and the miners were sent out to dig it up. Engineers were working in the labs. Nurses in the medical bay. Everything seemed to be coming together...

Except... The Autobots themselves were having a hard time of... _participating._

The Vehicons outnumbered the 'Bots almost a thousand to one, so obviously they were going to get more accomplished. Although, it did begin to bother Ultra Magnus that AA-00 was not asking the Autobots for assistance with... well. _Anything._

Soon enough, the Autobots ran out of projects to work on by themselves. They _had _to start coordinating with the Vehicons to get things done. This would have to be brought up with AA-00. And so Ultra Magnus called a council meeting to discuss it.

He arrived just as their meeting was scheduled to begin and took a seat at the table. Magnus looked around. Arcee, Bulkhead, Smokescreen, Bumblebee, Knockout... Ah, and Wheeljack had just arrived. Now they were just waiting on AA-00.

After a few minutes had passed, Arcee finally spoke up. "Maybe someone should go find them?" she offered with a short shrug.

"Don't bother; they're _always_ late." Knockout grumbled, picking at his claws. "They'll be here soon enough."

Magnus let out a frustrated huff of air. Knockout wasn't interested in this meeting, obviously. He had four Vehicon nurses working with him in the medbay already. AA-00's exclusion seemed to be entirely motivated by faction. Which was only one more reason why it disturbed Ultra Magnus so much.

A minute or so later, the door slid open and AA-00 hurried in, their helm lowered as they typed fervently on their datapad.

"What kept you, soldier?" Magnus spoke up immediately. Tardiness was probably Ultra Magnus' biggest pet peeve. Anyone else and he might have been writing them up for disciplinary action... but no. This needed to be handled gently.

"I'm not a soldier." AA-00 said quickly as they took their seat, still not taking their optics off the datapad. "And I'm _incredibly_ busy here, so let's make this quick."

"What's that you're busy with?" Smokescreen had his pedes up on the table and was leaning back in his seat. Ultra Magnus bent sideways a bit and with a quick swipe of his arm, Smokescreen's legs were swept off the table. He would have to give the 'Bot a formal reprimanding later for interrupting the formal nature of the meeting.

AA-00 didn't even look up. "Does it matter?" they continued pressing away at the pad.

"As a matter of fact, it does." Ultra Magnus said. He interlaced his fingers, leaning over the table just slightly, trying to look as stern as possible without being threatening. The not threatening part was important. "This meeting is because of _you_, AA-00."

AA-00 finally stopped and looked up. "Because of _me_?" they repeated, obviously displeased. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Before Ultra Magnus could assure AA-00 that he had not meant to be confrontational, Bumblebee shouted, "You're hogging all the work!" Bee threw his arms up in an angry gesture. "Seriously! You're organizing everything so we're not even working with the Vehicons. How are we supposed to get anything done?"

"I'd say there's _a lot_ getting done just fine!" AA-00 retorted, pointing a sharp digit at the scout. "A lot more than if you numb nodes were in charge of my Vehicons."

"We are here to settle this _amicably._" Ultra Magnus said firmly, shooting a glare at Bumblebee. The scout shrugged and turned his optics away. Magnus looked back to AA-00. "And we do not intend to take charge of the Vehicons away from you. We only think the Autobots need to be assigned to the appropriate teams and eventually, help to manage them. It would certainly lessen the amount of work that you-"

"I can do my job just fine, thank you." AA-00 interrupted Magnus. "I don't need any extra help."

"Well _we_ could sure use some extra help." Wheeljack grumbled, crossing his arms in front of his chassis. "I've got projects I need a team to work on. And I knowyou've got engineers in your ranks."

"Plus, Bumblebee and I can't keep going on scouting missions by ourselves." Arcee added, "It can be dangerous to go with just two of us. We could use the support of one or more of the Vehicon squads."

"And I could help with construction." Bulkhead raised a servo meekly. "I mean, I've got the experience and rebuilding the city is a pretty huge project..."

"Yeah! And I..." Smokescreen began, then hesitated. "Uhh... could... do _something _I'm sure. Y'know. Leadership-ish...?"

"Yeah, see? We all just want to help!" Bumblebee spoke up again. "Come on, Zero. I don't see why you won't let us work with the Vehicons."

AA-00's wings gave an irritated twitch. "First of all, if you call me _Zero_ again I'll leap across this table and punch you in the face!" This earned a small chuckle from Knockout, which in turn, earned him an elbow in the side from Bee. "And second..." AA-00 continued but then paused. After a short glance around at the Autobots they stuttered, "I'm not about to... I think... This... th-this conversation is _over_." Suddenly AA-00 stood and headed for the door. "I'm way to busy for this scrap, anyway!"

"AA-00! This meeting is not-" Before Ultra Magnus could finish his sentence the door slid shut behind the Vehicon and they were gone.

"Well that went well." Wheeljack grumbled, leaning back in his chair.

Knockout stood and headed for the door as well. "If you're all finished, I'll be headed back to the medical bay now. Unlike the rest of you, I _do _have a team to manage." The hint of arrogance in his tone was frustrating, but Ultra Magnus said nothing as the medic left the room. Now was not the time. The Autobots all stayed behind, waiting to see if anyone else had something to say.

"What are we going to do?" Arcee finally spoke up, looking directly at Ultra Magnus. "This is a really critical period. It's supposed to be about healing and coming together! We can't just let AA-00 keep us separated from the Decepticons like this. It could start up another conflict."

"Huh. Yeah, when you put it like that..." Bulkhead rumbled, scratching his helm. "I mean, Cybertron's had _enough_ conflict, I think. "

"We can all agree on that." Magnus sighed, pressing his digits to the side of his helm. He shuddered his optics for a moment to think. "The only reasonable course of action is to continue trying to persuade AA-00 peacefully."

"You guys don't really think this could come to like... real battles or something , do you?" Smokescreen said, "I mean, the Vehicons pretty much do what AA-00 tells 'em. And they wouldn't have the 'Cons do something like that... _would_ they?"

"The sway AA-00 holds over the Vehicons is precisely what has me worried." Magnus said, "The Vehiconsoutnumber us greatly, so we must find a way to desegregate the factions while ensuring that AA-00 does not feel threatened. Otherwise, such a conflict _could _very well arise."

A quick glance around the table showed that his words had the appropriate impact. The other Autobots were taking this seriously. Just as they should.

"I will attempt to speak to AA-00 again later." Magnus stood as he continued. "Hopefully, at a time when they are not working so they cannot use that as an excuse to hurry off. If I am unsuccessful then... well, we will have to start thinking of alternative methods of action... Meeting adjourned."

The Autobots grumbled quietly in acknowledgement then slowly got up and headed out. To where didn't really matter. They didn't have much to do.

Once the other 'Bots had cleared out, Ultra Magnus followed suit and headed towards his office. On his way there he passed two Vehicons in the hall. As they spotted him, they quickly cut off their conversation and shrank back against the wall until he passed, all the while keeping their optics trained fiercely on him.

It seemed awfully suspicious to Magnus; especially since a potential conflict was at the forefront of his processor. He had to speak with AA-00 as soon as possible! The faster the Vehicons could integrate with the Autobots the more likely they would have a _peaceful_ future together... at least assuming that was what AA-00 wanted...

Anyway, the first step was to find out when AA-00 would be off duty. Fortunately, they kept up a schedule, and one of the few conditions Magnus had in relinquishing his duty over the Vehicons was that he received a copy of that schedule every few cycles. He had wanted to know when and where to find the mech at all times. Thank Primus he had thought ahead.

Magnus entered his office and approached his desk. All his datapads were arranged on the shelf behind the desk, neatly and in order with their labels facing out, so he quickly found an empty one. Reaching into one of the desk drawers, Magnus pulled out the small datastick AA-00 had given to him with their most recent schedule on it. He plugged it into the datapad and it quickly loaded the file. What he found was somewhat surprising.

He had checked over AA-00's schedules before, but now that he was searching specifically for it, he noticed that the mech never seemed to take a break. Every meeting, every check-up was scheduled right up to the next. Every single moment, it seemed, was occupied.

Finally, Ultra Magnus spotted it. There was a three and a half sub-cycle time period labeled "recharge" later that cycle.

Hmm. Only three and a half sub-cycles? That was hardly a proper amount to fully recharge oneself. Well, regardless of AA-00's unhealthy recharge habits, that was when Magnus would have to speak with them again.

Putting away the datapad, Ultra Magnus commenced with a few practice conversations... this was a delicate matter, after all. He had to be as prepared as he possibly could be. In fact, best to get out some reference material to go over. There certainly had to be something about this kind of diplomatic situation in the Autobot code. Or maybe even the Tyrest Accord. Yes, he would just have to go though both of them again to see if it helped...


	2. Chapter 2

Ultra Magnus had arrived outside AA-00's quarters precisely when they were scheduled for their break. He then proceeded to stand there for almost half a sub-cycle, alone in the hallway, as he waited for AA-00 to actually show up.

Magnus looked down at the datapad in his servos, going over some notes he'd made for himself. The Vehicon had only scheduled three and a half sub-cycles for recharging in the first place, and now it was down to only three. It was bad enough that they didn't show up on time for meetings, but they couldn't even manage to be punctual for their own time off? Magnus fervently scanned the short lines of text on his screen, trying to push out any ideas in his processor about chastising AA-00 for their unhealthy work habits... As much as he wanted to, he knew it really would not help the situation at hand.

As he continued looking over his datapad, he finally heard someone approaching. Magnus looked up just in time to see a lone Vehicon come around the corner towards him. It wasn't AA-00. No, judging by the frame type, this appeared to be one of the servant class Vehicons. Probably a miner. And once she spotted Ultra Magnus up ahead she stopped dead in her tracks.

After a moment of them just staring at each other, Magnus finally spoke up. "Are you here to see AA-00 as well?"

At hearing his voice, the miner's optical visor flared slightly and they almost seemed to flinch. "No I... I was just... I mean y-yes. Yes I was b-but uh..." she stammered, pulling her optics away from the Autobot and locking them firmly on the floor. "I... I'll just see them later."

Suspicious.

The Vehicon quickly turned to go back they way she came, but Ultra Magnus' voice stopped her. "What is your designation?" he called out.

Looking back, she seemed to hesitate before finally replying, "I'm PA-01."

Magnus noticed the hesitation. "What is it you intended to speak with AA-00 about, PA-01?" he asked.

"Th...there's um... There's just... It's mining stuff. I don't know..." She was shifting her weight anxiously, and her vision wandered along the rivets in the floor around Magnus' pedes as she desperately avoided meeting his gaze. Which meant she didn't notice when Ultra Magnus narrowed his optics.

Even more suspicious.

"You don't know?" He repeated, his vocalizer took on a darker tone.

PA-01 immediately stopped shifting around and froze. "I... I..." she stammered quietly. Finally, after ventilating heavily for a moment, she looked up into Ultra Magnus' face. "_I-just-wanted-to-ask-AA-00-about-the-extra-mining-equipment-my-units-were-promised-and-haven't-gotten-yet-but-they-aren't-here-and-they-told-us-not-to-talk-to-you-Autobots-so-I'm-just-gonna-go-okay-bye!_" She spoke so fast Magnus almost didn't understand her, but before he had time to ask any more questions, she turned and bolted back around the corner like her spark depended on it. Which left Magnus alone to ponder over the encounter.

He was particularly troubled by the very last thing she had mentioned. AA-00 instructed the Vehicons to not even speak to the Autobots? Why was that? Was it possible they _were_ planning something? AA-00 was in charge of so many operations; could one or more of them be utilized to scheme against the Autobots? What if "mining equipment" was some sort of code word? What if they were gearing up to destroy the Autobots once and for all and claim Cybertron in the name of the Decepticons?!

Just as Magnus' processor was really starting to delve into all the possible ways that the Vehicons could be plotting the demise of the Autobots, he heard a few voices approaching from the other direction. He looked back around and saw AA-00 and three other Vehicons round the far corner of the hall and head towards him. AA-00 was focused down on their datapad, as usual, and the three Vehicons appeared to all be vying for their attention and speaking over one another.

Finally, one of the the Vehicons looked up and spotted Magnus. He froze in his place, stopping the one behind him as well, catching the attention of the third who looked up, saw Magnus, and froze as well.

For a moment, AA-00 continued forward without the three. But apparently, the sudden silence caught their attention better than their combined voices could, and they looked back around at the Vehicons. Seeing they'd stopped, AA-00 followed their stares down the hall and finally laid optics on Magnus, standing just across from the door to their quarters.

There was a noticeable twitch of sorts in AA-00's wings; whether it was from being startled or irritated Magnus couldn't tell. They only looked at Magnus for a moment, then quickly turned back to the Vehicons and motioned for them to leave.

One of them, another silver eradicon glanced quickly back and forth between AA-00 and Magnus before leaning in and saying something Magnus couldn't quite make out. However, he did hear AA-00 respond with, "I'll be fine. Just _go._"

After hesitating for another moment, the Eradicon, along with the other two Vehicons, turned and hurried back down the hallway. AA-00 only turned to face Magnus after they had rounded the corner and were out of sight.

"Ultra Magnus." AA-00 stated his name as they approached, stopping just out of reach of the enforcer. "Is there some reason you're standing outside my quarters or is this just a coincidence?"

Magnus straightened his posture as much as he could, trying to look formal. This was to be a friendly conversation. He would be as diplomatic as possible.

"I wanted to speak with you again about matters concerning the Autobots working with the Vehicons." he recited it just as he'd practiced. "I believe you are making a mistake by not including us in the organization of-"

"I think I made my opinion on that quite clear earlier." AA-00 interrupted him and turned away, moving towards the keypad next to their door. "Not that I expect you 'Bots to care about _my _opinion..." they grumbled quietly as they pressed in their passcode.

"AA-00 you _must _reconsider." Careful not to sound too demanding. "Perhaps if you were to give the Autobots _small_ Vehicon teams as a sort of trial period. We would be able to-" Ultra Magnus stopped short as AA-00's door slid open to reveal their quarters. Ugh. He couldn't help but wince as he looked into the room.

Amidst what Ultra Magnus assumed was a desk and a berth, there were stacks upon stacks of boxes; some still tightly sealed, some opened with the contents strewn out around them. Stray datasticks and binders obscured most of the desk with no discernible organization. Innumerable datapads were piled up all around the room and many more were simply littered across the floor. Worst of all, there appeared to be one chosen corner dedicated to empty energon containers. Stacks of cubes (mostly empty, but some still with a bit left) and their broken bits climbed high up the wall in a treacherous tower that, at any moment, looked as though it might collapse and engulf the small room in a torrent of plastic and energon dregs.

AA-00 glanced back when Ultra Magnus cut himself off and caught him staring into the mess of their room. "Don't look at me like that. I _know_ it's a disaster." they huffed, stepping inside. "All of my files were moved from my quarters on the Nemesis and it's not as though I have any spare time to unpack or clean!"

Part of Magnus recognized this as an excellent way to jump back into the conversation, but another part of him wasn't quite done with staring on in horror at the clutter of AA-00's living space. How could they even stand to be in this mess? It was appalling!

"Now if you'll excuse me. I only have so long before I have to get back to work, so..." AA-00 was reaching up to the keypad to close their door again.

Oh no!

"Wait!" Magnus thrust his hand forward as the door started sliding shut. The panels quickly jumped back to prevent closing on him, and he stepped forward into the doorway. "AA-00, please allow me to-"

"What do you think you're doing?!" AA-00 cut him off. "Get out!"

"You must at least listen to me!" Ultra Magnus was beginning to get frustrated with the Vehicon's attitude.

"No, I really mustn't." Their wings fluttered angrily and they pressed their servo on the keypad. "And if you have even the slightest shred of respect for me or what I do then you'll _stop questioning how I do it!_"

"This is not about you, AA-00. It's about all of us. About _Cybertron._" he said, trying to regain the calm tone he'd started out with. It wasn't easy. "We have the opportunity to come together and work on restoring our planet, not as separate factions, but as fellow Cybertronians."

AA-00's wings lowered slightly as Magnus spoke but they said nothing. At least it was _some_ sort of response... and the gesture appeared to be one of understanding. Magnus continued. "I realize it will be difficult to integrate our two factions, but doing so is crucial to maintaining the peace and ensuring the future of our planet."

The Vehicon lowered their gaze to the keypad, letting out a quiet murmur that sounded like some sort of acknowledgement. Good. That was progress... but Ultra Magnus still had that tiny suspicion in the back of his processor. The suspicion that perhaps these Vehicons were not as interested in maintaining the peace as the Autobots were... Perhaps he could put that to the test right now.

Keeping a close watch on AA-00 to gage their reaction, Magnus continued, "I'm glad you agree. Because if we don't settle this, it is possible another conflict could arise between us. And you don't want that. Do you?"

"_WHAT?!_" AA-00's response was immediate. Their wings shot up, their whole frame stiffening and their optics flashing brightly.

Magnus suddenly found himself being shoved out into the corridor by the smaller 'Con and stumbling back into the opposite wall. He had certainly been expecting some sort of reaction but he hadn't expected _this_! He wasn't sure what to make of it. Did this violent reaction mean he was on to something? That AA-00 _was_ planning to overthrow the Autobots? As he regained his bearings, AA-00 was on him again, pressing a sharp digit right into his chassis.

"Don't think you can threaten me like that, Magnus!" they spat out his name like an insult. "and don't you DAREthreaten _my _Vehicons!I won't stand for it!"

A _threat? _Oh no. AA-00 had taken it completely the wrong way! Magnus lifted his servos, trying to make a calming sort of gesture, but AA-00 jumped back as he did. "No! No, that wasn't a threat, I only meant-"

"Oh I understand _exactly _what you meant, and I'm through listening to you." AA-00 turned, storming back into their room.

"Please let me explain! I didn't mean that we Autobotswould take action against you, just that-"

"Of _course_, because the Autobots would _never_ hurt a Vehicon." AA-00's vocalizer was dripping I sarcasm as they looked back from their doorway. "You know what the worst part is? I think you _actually _believe that."

It took a moment for Magnus to really comprehend what AA-00 was saying. "Th... The Autobots don't wish harm on _anyone. _That includes you Vehicons!" he insisted.

"Right. Well, when I believe that, you can have all the Vehicon workers you like." AA-00 placed their servo on the keypad again. "But until then, I'm going to protect my Vehicons. And that means keeping them far away from _you._" With that their door slid shut.

Ultra Magnus stood there in the hallway for awhile, just feeling rather dumbfounded. It was surprising how many conversations with AA-00 ended with him in this state of bewilderment. Finally, he turned and headed off down the hallway, his processor still in a cloud of confusion.

What in the world made AA-00 think the Autobots were dangerous? They were _Autobots, _after all. If there were to be a new conflict, then obviously it would be the Decepticons who would initiate it! He had thought that point would have been obvious, even to AA-00... apparently not. And he thought they had done so well being amicable towards the Decepticons since the rebuilding effort began. What could have made AA-00 think they wanted to hurt the Vehicons?

Although that hadn't gone the way he had hoped, or even prepared for, at least he had discovered a motive behind AA-00's exclusion: they didn't trust the Autobots to be around the Vehicons. Now he just needed to convince them that... that what? They weren't going to go on mass-murdering sprees when they were assigned teams to work with? How did that need to be proved? The very notion was ridiculous!

Reaching a junction in the hallway, Magnus paused for a moment to consider where he was going. Then he turned and headed towards the medical bay. Apparently AA-00 trusted their medic enough to assign him his own Vehicons, despite him technically switching sides... Perhaps he could persuade his Vehicons to offer some insight into their leader's perspective. He just hoped Knockout was in a sharing mood.


End file.
